For my first note taking challenge, I used Mindomo. I thought it would be similar to Popplet, but I was wrong. The only similarity is that both are mind map creation tools. Popplet is much easier to use and it makes mind mapping fun. Mindomo is much more structured and organized. Everything seemed hierarchical rather than mapped and connected.

Mindomo enabled me to create a map of the main things that I took away from the first chapter of New Learning. I was able to create a title, main topics, and subtopics. I was also able to show relationships between topics and subtopics. It prevented me from creating a sprawling mind map. In the vein of Popplet, I wanted to move all the bubbles around. I would have liked to had some closer to others for visual closeness. Once a subtopic was posted, I had to go to the theme to change the orientation and arrangement. This provided some flexibility but not much. The program provided helpful hints and keyboard shortcuts for all the tasks. It was easy to use and something I would recommend for students who wanted a more structured mind map. I could see this work for students who like to do webbing or clustering for brainstorming. It could also work for students who like to do outlines. It would be especially helpful for a rhetorical analysis assignment. Students could create main topics for ethos, logos, and pathos. Next, students could insert definitions for each as a connected main topic and then create several subtopics bubbles to include the details of their analysis. The more structured nature of Mindomo would be useful for visual learners and for those who want to try visuals but need a since of hierarchy.


Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.